System doesn't like 2nd hard drive, thoughts?

[aaroncgi]

Sasq,

Yes, I have the latest version of the MB bios. Removing components doesn't seem to make any difference - sound card, modem, DVD/CD-RW drive... still get the same error. Doesn't seem like a power supply issue, since I can boot into safe mode, and I have been running with the same number of devices since last summer. I'd think a power supply issue wouldn't produce the same error at the exact same spot every single time...

az,

No, I haven't tried reinstalling the OS. That's a last resort, and not only because I no longer have the original Win98 disk. I am thinking of upgrading to XP, but am scared about losing some of the software that I use. (not talking games here)

Of course, I also am concerned about my hardware not liking XP, maybe I'll poke around MS and see if they have a list of compatible hardware....


Aaron

[Guru]

Have you tried updating the BIOS and drivers for the highpoint card? Also make sure you have all drives as "master" or "slave" and not as "cable select"! New Maxtors for example comes pre configured to use cable select!

[Technoid]

Originally posted by aaroncgi
I'd think a power supply issue wouldn't produce the same error at the exact same spot every single time...

Aaron

Guess again!

I was amased when I found out why one computer defied to produce sound.
I had tried several Soundcards but still no sound!
But Windoze reported that everything was ok!
It was the PS that was broke in some way(waste of time to find out why on a 40$ peice of ..., so I put it in to the cylindric archive) and after replacing the old PS the sound worked great!!!

A bad PS can do very funny things indeed!

[aaroncgi]

Guru,

Yes, I have the latest bios and drivers on the highpoint card. But remember, even if I completely remove the card from my system, I still get the same error if I have both hard drives connected to my motherboard (in any configuration).

Technoid,

I'll grant you that power supply problems can be strange, but did yours give the same error every time, and ONLY with certain configurations? I can have MORE devices connected to my machine, and as long as there's only one hard drive, works fine. As soon as I try to add the second hard drive, even after removing the other devices, still no workie..

Not having much luck finding any of my hardware (except my G400, of course!) on the WinXP compatibility list, either.. maybe have to find a Win98 disc again and reinstall...


Aaron

[Jorden]

http://www.soyousa.com/technical.html

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;NL;q263466

And get a better PSU. 250W is not going to drive 5 drives, a couple of fans and your other hardware. Updating the BIOS on your mobo may overcome the problem you have when you attach the drive on a mobo IDE port.

[aaroncgi]

Jorden,

Thanks for the MS link, I will check into that. However, I do not have a Soyo motherboard, and I do have the latest bios on my Tyan, as I mentioned before...

The power supply has been running four drives and all my other hardware just fine for the past 8 months, and that's all I am asking it to do now (didn't have a power Y connector, so had to leave my CD drive disconnected). Also, why would it be able to run everything in safe mode, but not regular mode? Does safe mode use less power?

Wouldn't it be cool if there were a program that could tell you just how much power your computer was actually using from the power supply...hmm, add a couple ammeters in the +5v and +12V lines...

Aaron

[KeiFront]

Originally posted by aaroncgi

Wouldn't it be cool if there were a program that could tell you just how much power your computer was actually using from the power supply...hmm, add a couple ammeters in the +5v and +12V lines...

Try motherboard monitor http://mbm.livewiredev.com/

[Marshmallowman]

yes I think a reinstall is in order as well.

I have been down the same route before, with extended partitions the new drive is always going to pop up between your old a C: and d: drive(and fuxor everything)

what may work, is copying all the stuff on your old D: partition to your new disk, so when you boot up, the "new" D: drive is the same as theold D: drive...

win 2k and xp are lot better in handling new drives and partitions...and I think it would be well worth the upgrade..

PS you could set bios to boot from your new drive on the highpoint and the install your new OS there, while keeping your drive as is(old drives become D: and E: ) then after you have copied all your stuff over and verified everything works your could reformat and reclaim the space on the old drive...

I had the same problems years ago with win98 (except I was using scsi gear), its not a controller thing its a win 98 thing

[cjolley]

Do you have partition 0 on both drives set as active (boot) and formatted with system files?
This can confuse the heck out of your system, especialy if you have two IDE HD controlers in the system.
I have seen this when I've hooked up other peoples c: drive to my system.
chuck

[The PIT]

Mmm sounds like typical poor quality high point controller. Is the card sharing with anything and have you tried a different slot? Have you tried the drives on seperate channels?
Data corruption under dos is also worrying you haven't got your memory timings set to the most aggresive have you?

[aaroncgi]

Latest update....

Cjolley,

My 30G 75GXP is the only drive that has system files on it. The new drive is completely blank (but formatted).

The Pit,

I'm still not convinced that it IS the controller. I can duplicate the problem any time with the controller completely uninstalled, simply by plugging in two hard drives to the system (regardless of configuration).

I also did try the controller in each PCI slot (save for the one that shares with my G400), with no other cards in the system, and made sure it wasn't sharing...same result every time.

I don't recall saying anything about data corruption under DOS though..will have to reread my posts. I don't recall having any..


Anyhoo, here are the latest updates:

I got a copy of Norton Ghost, in an attempt to copy my old hard drive to my new one. Well, a couple minutes into the process Ghost found some bad sectors on my 75GXP (which I already knew about), and it made some really horrible scratching noises, like a needle scratching on a record, and the program appeared to hang..it would not continue from that point. My next option I will try tonight or tomorow, using Xcopy to move files from one drive to the other.

Here's another weird thing though - I had a Maxtor UDMA33 drive laying around, and my dad had made the suggest that perhaps Win98 doesn't like my UltraATA100 drive. So, plugged in the old Maxtor and guess what? I did not get the VCOMM initialization WPE, but the system locked up at exactly the same spot, with a nice black screen and blinking cursor, just before loading the Windows desktop. HMMMM. I just am cursed trying to add another hard drive, apparently.

We shall see if I am successful in copying files onto the new drive, hopefully Windows will boot from that without issue. Who knows, maybe the 75GXP is on it's last legs, although it hasn't given me any trouble other than the bad sectors.

Still would like to upgrade to XP or at least reinstall Win98, and that would be a heck of a lot nicer if I could get two drives working at once! Might even like to try a dual boot..

Thanks for all the tips everyone!


Aaron Gilbert